Pop-up store to offer rotating businesses in Brookline Village

Jeremy Baras wants his business to go national, so he’s got a lot riding on his first foray — a pop-up store that opens this weekend in Brookline.

Ignacio Laguarda/ilaguarda@wickedlocal.com

Jeremy Baras wants his business to go national, so he’s got a lot riding on his first foray — a pop-up store that opens this weekend in Brookline.

PopUp Republic is a concept Baras came up with 18 months ago, and he describes it as a social media marketing company that helps pop-up stores promote themselves. The store in Brookline, however, will be the first for the company.

It will be called Pop-Up Marketplace and will be located at 2 Brookline Place. The store opens this Saturday, Aug. 3, from noon to 5 p.m.

A pop-up store hosts an array of businesses for an indefinite amount of time. Some businesses will rent a space for months, while others may only be around for a few days.

The first floor of 2 Brookline Place has been a chronically vacant area, especially after Children’s Hospital got permits to build a new eight-story building on the site in 2008. The economic downturn and other financial issues have kept the project on the shelf since then.

Because of the uncertain nature of the building, no new businesses have moved into the first floor recently, and all of the previous tenants are gone.

The space has lost so much value that it was essentially given to Baras. He’ll pay no rent for Pop-Up Marketplace, and he won’t charge businesses rent to use the space. He’ll only take a percentage of sales from those businesses, which will be divided among two spaces, a 1,000-square-foot store closer to Route 9, and a 700-square-foot space near the Brookline Village MBTA stop.

Baras’ original idea was to use pop-ups in areas that are struggling or need a boost in business, which meshed well with the Route 9 location.

His first move was meeting with economic development representatives in different towns and cities in the area. He got interest from Walpole, Framingham, Providence, R.I., and Burlington, Vt.

But Brookline was the first to offer him a space. Former Planning and Community Development Director Kara Brewton, who was acting in an interim role, gave Baras a list of landlords who have either expressed an interest in pop-up stores, or have had vacant spaces in Brookline.

Children’s Hospital was on the list, and after contacting Bob Bailey, the senior real estate asset manager at Children’s Hospital, Baras had a place to start his business.

“They, and the town, have been so great in helping us and supporting us,” he said.

Brewton told him that Brookline’s two largest employers — Children’s and the New England Institute of Art — are on each side of the store.

“In terms of location, it’s great,” said Baras. “This would have been a thriving vibrant place because it’s a perfect spot. The only reason it’s not is because Children’s can’t give out long-term leases.”

Pop-Up Marketplace will be the first dedicated pop-up store in the town, said Baras.

Currently, there are seven businesses slated for the location. They include The Museum of Bad Art, Weinstein Sculpture, Goddard House and The Cupcake Battery.

Baras said he is under agreement with Children’s Hospital for one year, with the option for both sides to break the agreement within 30 days.

Eventually, Baras hopes to spread the PopUp Republic brand throughout the country.

“We really want this to be a win-win-win-win for everybody, for us, for the town, for the merchants, for Children’s Hospital,” he said.

Priya Tahiliani and Craig Haas are the owners of The Cupcake Battery, a business that specializes in gluten-free cupcakes and one of the businesses slated to use the Pop-Up Marketplace space.

For a profile of The Cupcake Battery, click here.

The pair has been trying to open up a store in Brookline, but has come across a number of challenges, one of which is securing a commercial kitchen where they can make the sweet treats. The business is hoping to be at Pop-Up Marketplace very soon, but may not be around for opening day.

“We thought this was a golden opportunity for us,” said Haas. “It just makes perfect sense for what we’re doing right now and where we want to go…it’s very exciting for us.”

Michael Frank, curator-in-chief for the Museum of Bad Art, said the museum is happy to be in Pop-Up Marketplace’s space. The museum currently takes up space inside the Somerville Theatre in Davis Square, and Brookline Access TV, as well as the New England Wildlife Center in South Weymouth.

For more information on the Museum of Bad Art, click here.

He said the museum has over 500 pieces of “art,” but they can only exhibit in the three aforementioned locations.

“Being able to show this stuff is what we’re about,” he said.

For more information on Brookline’s first pop-up store, visit popuprepublic.com.

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